Everton vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
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An early goal from Dwight McNeil earned Everton a precious 1-0 win over Brentford at Goodison Park that dragged Sean Dyche’s struggling side out of the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday.
McNeil put Everton in front with a superb left-footed finish in the opening minute after an assist by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The home side spurned several chances to extend their lead in the first half, with Michael Keane, Amadou Onana and Demarai Gray all guilty of poor finishing, while Brentford keeper David Raya saved well from Alex Iwobi following a corner.
Gray, who shot straight at Raya when put clean through by Idrissa Gueye just after the half-hour mark, bundled home minutes before halftime but the video assistant referee ruled the goal out for handball.
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford denied Rico Henry with an excellent save minutes into the second half in a match in which Everton’s back line did brilliantly to deny Brentford’s prolific target man Ivan Toney the time and space to operate.
Brentford pushed hard for an equaliser and dominated possession after the break, coming agonisingly close in injury time when Raya went up for a corner in the dying minutes but headed narrowly wide.
Victory moved Everton up four places to 15th in the table on 25 points, while Brentford stayed ninth.
Everton vs Brentford
It's another good delivery from McNeil on a free-kick on the right, and it's Keane that wins the header in the middle. He thumps it across goal, towards Doucoure, but Raya reacts quickly to get there first.
Everton vs Brentford
GREAT SAVE! It was almost a perfect start to the second half for Brentford! Hickey picks out Jensen's overlapping run and he clips a dangerous cross to the far post. Henry has a free header, but Pickford spreads himself to block it at the near post.
Everton vs Brentford
Dyche will be very pleased with that first-half performance, though slightly disappointed not to have a bigger lead. He'll be expecting them to keep this level after the break. Thomas Frank didn't look pleased with what he saw, and he'll be trying to instil some calm into his players for the second half.
Everton vs Brentford
Everton take a 1-0 lead over Brentford into half-time. The Toffees got off to a dream start, with McNeil rifling their opening goal past Raya with just 35 seconds on the clock. Mbeumo and Toney both had efforts saved by Pickford, but the hosts were on top throughout. Raya was forced into two good saves in quick succession to deny Gray and Iwobi, and the former thought he'd doubled their lead when he chested in a clearance, but VAR ruled it out for a handball on its way in.
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